ST. JOHN'S PRESCHOOL
  • Home
  • Brown Room 2024-2025
  • Rainey Room 2024-2025
  • Tucker Room 2024-2025
  • Children's Workshop
  • Summer Blog 2024
  • Tucker Room 2023-2024
  • Home
  • Brown Room 2024-2025
  • Rainey Room 2024-2025
  • Tucker Room 2024-2025
  • Children's Workshop
  • Summer Blog 2024
  • Tucker Room 2023-2024
Search

The Virtual Classroom

March Projections

2/26/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

The Loch Ness Monster

2/25/2021

0 Comments

 
For a few weeks now, Giacomo has been sharing his knowledge and interest in the Loch Ness Monster.  Until today though, we didn't have a story to read about it.  I finally found a book of Scottish Mythical Creatures, which has ONE story of the Loch Ness Monster; we think there might be many versions of the story and image of the monster. 
Picture
Picture
"If you know a different type of Loch Ness monster, then yours is different.  Her nickname was Nessie." - Giacomo, 4.2 years
This is a book with some illustrations, but not a lot.  We have to use our imaginations. Just a reminder, this story is a folk tale or legend.  It doesn't mean it's true.  We can decide if we think it's true.  - Elyse
After reading a few pages, we stopped to reflect on what we had learned from the story so far.  We took a minute to recall details. 

Do you know who this might be? - Elyse

"The guy standing in the boat." - Giacomo
Do you remember our character's name? - Elyse
"Um, no." - Giacomo 
"What can you tell me about it?" - Saul, 3.6 years 
His name was McKenzie. He works on the boat like his father, grandfather, and all of the men before him. - Elyse

So far in our story, it seems like he's a kind monster (because the monster seems to help McKenzie). Maybe it's a kind monster? - Elyse
"A kind monster. Yeah!" - Saul
"My dad thinks he's nice, but I don't even believe in that." - Giacomo 
Do you remember what McKenzie gave the monster to eat? - Elyse
"Yeah, some fish." - Giacomo 
"Fish!" - Saul 
Picture
Picture
"But that's not our Loch Ness monster." - Giacomo
I think everybody interprets it differently, and this illustrator thinks it looks like this. ​- Elyse
0 Comments

Perspective...or Point of View

2/24/2021

0 Comments

 
Last week, we experimented with perspective when we played a game with our trucks and post it notes; we held them close to the camera and far away.  Today, we were experimenting with moving our bodies around to find different ways to view our room, chairs, and even how we can see each other on the screen (are you bigger or smaller now?).  

What does perspective mean [to you]?  Do you have any ideas about that word? - Elyse
“That is something that is little and when we move it closer to our face it gets bigger.” - Saul, 3.6 years
Picture
Picture
Does it look bigger when you move it away? Or smaller? 
“Bigger when you move it away [from face and closer to camera].” - Saul
“If you move anything. If you can move anything in the world, like a tree, if you are that strong to a camera, like on my camera. You can see it get bigger. [begins to move tissue box closer to the camera].  So you see it’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger because it also happens when it’s coming straight at you.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
Picture

What does the room look like from your back?

Picture
Picture
Picture
Does your room look different? - Elyse
“Yeah!” - Saul 

And tell me, does it look the same or does it look different if you’re in this kind of position instead of sitting up? - Elyse
“Yes.” - Giacomo
What’s different about the room? - Elyse
“Well basically when you stand up and put your head up it gets bigger.  But when you lay down like I am, it gets smaller.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years

Picture
Picture
Saul, what if you put your balloon on the ground, like I’m putting my ball on the ground.  Then, I’m going to stand really tall over it. Does it look smaller when you stand up? 
“No!” - Saul
What if I move closer like this [squatting]?
“It gets bigger!” - Saul
What if we hold it above our face and our eyes are like the camera? Does it look different?
“It looks different when I try to touch it. When I stand up I can get it.” - Saul, 3.6 years


“You see it way up high?” - Saul [holding truck up]
Picture
Picture

Using the chair

I was wondering if we could use something that we all have and look at it from all different perspectives. Maybe another word is we can look at it from different points of view. - Elyse
Saul, I notice you're behind your chair.  What do you notice about your chair when you’re behind it? - Elyse
“When you’re behind it you see from behind and you don’t see yourself.  You want me to show you something cool?” - Saul  [climbs into chair]
Picture
Picture
Picture
I can’t see very much of the chair if I’m sitting in it. What do you think? Can you see a lot of your chair? - Elyse
“No.” - Saul
Picture
“If you get off of your chair you can see the whole thing with your two eyes.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years 
“If I sit in my chair, I don’t see a lot of my chair too.” - Saul, 3.6 years
From behind:
Picture
Picture
Picture
I can’t see the back of my chair.  Where do I have to move to see it? - Elyse
“You have to go behind it.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
“It’s difficult when we move away.  When we don’t move away, it’s not difficult.” - Saul, 3.6 years
Is there somewhere that I can stand to see the front and the back of the chair at the same time? - Elyse

[Saul runs to the back of his chair. Then he runs to the front and back and front then back again]
If you’re behind it can you see the front too? - Elyse
“Yeah! Front and back!” - Saul 

[Giacomo gets up to look through the back of his chair]
From above:
Picture
Saul, what does your chair look like from up there because for me you look really far away. 
[comes to his knees]
“If I go like this I get taller and taller in the world.” - Saul, 3.6 years
Picture
What if I do the same thing? If I leave my camera down there, but I get up in the chair? Do I look close to you or really far away? 
“Really far away! Your camera is really far away.” - Saul
From underneath:
Picture
“When you go under the chair, you can’t see me.” - Saul, 3.6 years
Picture

A whole new perspective

“Watch this.  When I spin, the world moves.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
Let’s all try it.  That’s one way to see everything. 
“You need a lot of space to spin.” - Giacomo
Picture
0 Comments

“At night, if you put a flashlight on the dark, it creates a shadow.” - Giacomo

2/22/2021

0 Comments

 

Testing out our flashlights

Picture
I notice that your room is dark like mine. 
"Your room is lighter." - Saul, 3.6 years 
Picture
Moving it up and down.

Picture
Up against a truck.
Picture
Twirling it in circles.
Picture
Twirling it and using our hands in front of it.
Picture

Making shadows bigger and smaller

“So Elyse, do you see that my bathroom is dark? If I turn this light on, it’s a little bit [more] light, and you can see something. It’s almost like a shadow. The further you get, the bigger it is.” - Giacomo  [moving away from wall, but closer to the light source]
“So, the closer to you get, the smaller it is.   The more backwards you go, the bigger it gets.  It’s humongous.” - Giacomo

“Humungous.” - Saul 
“The closer my shadow gets, the smaller it is.The more backwards I go, it’s bigger.” - Giacomo
When you get further away from the light, your shadow gets bigger?
“It doesn’t just absorb my shadow, it can also absorb other shadows.” - Giacomo [holding tissue]
Picture
“Do you see now it’s dark? Actually, it’s darker inside here and the more darker it is, the more shadow it looks like.” - Giacomo
The darker the room, the more shadows?
“See, it’s a teensy teensy shadow, but then I turn this on [lamp], there’s a good shadow.” - Giacomo
Picture
Picture
Does it have to be dark for you to find shadows? 
“Yeah, but then you need a flashlight to point into a dark place so that you can find a shadow.” - Giacomo
Picture
[above]: How can we make this smaller? 
[right]: Saul using his animal to make it bigger sand smaller.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
What happens if you put the flashlight near the truck?
[far left]: What if we point the flashlight up? Can we find shadows up there?

[immediately left]; Giacomo finding the shadow of his tree. 
Picture
We each used our own objects to test out how movement changes the size of the shadow. 
Picture
Picture

Revisiting  Mary Poppins​

We revisited a book that we read quite a bit in the fall.  This Mary Poppins book is full of beautiful silhouettes that are part of the illustrations/artwork of the book.  This time, we used a flashlight to really emphasize the shadows that they make as you turn the pages. 
​
Picture
Picture
Giacomo reminded us that in the new Mary Poppins movie, there is a rubber duck.  I had one nearby, and we discovered that we could use the flashlight to "add" the rubber duck to the page.  Do we need a big one? or a small one?
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Message Making

2/17/2021

0 Comments

 
There are quite a few friends we haven't seen in a few weeks, or even months.  Today, we took some time to create message for some of these children so that they would know we were thinking about them.  
We brought scissors, hole punch tools, stickers, markers, pens, highlighters, sewing materials, and "sticky glue". 

"This, you see this? It puts some little holes." - Saul, 3.6 years

"We have to be careful with our sharp things that we don't cut ourselves." - Saul 
Picture
"We have a big, big mess here.  We're only working with the mess to make messages for all the kids that don't have messages." - Saul, 3.6 years
Picture
Picture
"Elle.  That's my friend from Benton Street. Her house is not very far away.  It's next to mine. Maybe I can flip it upside down and tape it up, then wrap it up [to deliver it]. I can walk it to her house." - Remy, 3.4 years
Picture
"I'm sewing to make it because we promised that we would sew messages." - Saul 

"Let's play 'sleeping sewing messages'." - Saul 
Picture
Picture
How could you arrange your stickers to make a new image?  - Elyse
"Look! A new image! I can make new shapes. I twisted the sticker." - Remy, 3.4 years
Picture
"Can I see your highlighters?" - Saul 
Picture
"I have two messages.  I'm sewing three messages for Sylvie.  I'm going to give you a message, give Sylvie a message, and give me a message.  Then everyone will have messages.  I'm going to send you one because I really, really love you." - Saul 

Saul, I'll show you the ones I got in the mail from you the other day. - Elyse
"What are these?" - Saul
​You sent them to me for my birthday. - Elyse
Picture
Picture
Sleeping Bunnies

1. Messages who play when the wake up. 
2. Unicorns who sleep standing up, and jump when they wake up. 
3. Forklifts who lift (heavy things) when they wake up. 
​4. Chickens who cluck when they wake up.
Picture

Being silly together- Sticker mustaches

Picture
Picture
It was so wonderful to see Remy again!  Thanks for joining us to make messages Remy!  Hopefully we'll see you again soon! 
0 Comments

Mark Making Experiment

2/16/2021

0 Comments

 
“I can see it really well.” - C.C., 4.4 years
Today we were experimenting with a variety of drawing tools and surfaces.  Would there be some that did not work well together? Would you be able to see the marks on each surface? What are the best combinations? How does the same tool work with two or three different surfaces (e.g. highlighter with paper, cardboard, or bubble wrap).  
Picture
And a big welcome to CC!
Picture
We brought: cardboard, foil, bubble wrap, white paper, blue paper, clear plastic, "growing markers", highlighters, pencils, colored pencils, and more.
Picture
“I have growing markers. When you turn this, it grows more. The more you twist this, the more it goes up.  The more you twist it this way, the more it goes down.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years

“Why is It called a highlighter?” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
I’m noticing that Saul is using a yellow highlighter. - Elyse
“Highlighter?” - Saul, 3.6 years
It looks like Giacomo has one too. - Elyse
“Why is It called a highlighter? I’m wondering why there’s the light because it can’t make light.” - Giacomo
“It’s a highlighter because we always call them highlighters.” - Saul 
Giacomo was noticing that they don’t make light.
“Yeah, why are they even called highlighters if they don’t make light?” - Giacomo
Picture
Picture
Picture
I’m going to use my pen, and I’m going to write your name on my paper.  Do you see it says, ‘Giacomo’?
“Yeah.” - Giacomo
If I want to highlight, or maybe another word is ‘spotlight’ the ‘G’…can you see that if I draw over it, it spotlights it?
Picture
Picture
Picture
“What is spotlight?” - Saul 
Saul, if I spotlight you on Zoom, everybody can see you, and only you. If I remove your spotlight, we can see everything.  

Picture
“Let me try the thing that you did.” - Giacomo
“See? I highlighted them.” - Giacomo
Picture

“It’s a race car.” - C.C.
Picture
Picture
“It’s a race car.” - CC ​
“I want to color it in.” - CC 
“Because wheels are actually black for real. An the blue stuff is the windows. This triangle is a house. I thinked about it.” - CC
Picture
Picture

“What else will work?  Hmmm…I’m thinking about it.” - Saul, 3.6 years
“It’s bubbles.  It’s bubbles.” - Saul 
Saul, is your bubble wrap yellow from the highlighter?

Saul and I each tried a pen (his red, mine green) on the bubble wrap, and we discovered that we could see the marks. 

“Yeah, I have a pencil.” - Saul 
Giacomo, do you think a pencil will work on bubble wrap? 
“Bubble wrap. I don’t know.  Bubble wrap is a think that can’t be drawed on. Try it.” - Giacomo
We did discover that our highlighters work, and my green pen worked.  What about the pencil? 
“It won’t work. It only works on scratchy paper.” - Giacomo
Picture
Picture
Saul, what if we try our pencil and colored pencil on the cardboard because it didn’t work on the bubble wrap. - Elyse
“Why did it not work?” - Saul 
“Well, let me tell you.  The bubble wrap, when the bubble wrap is smashed, you can’t use it. So, if the bubble wrap has a mixture inside of it, the bumps, when it goes over, they pop. But also, it, the one that popped, made a mixture.“ - Giacomo
I did find that the pencils popped the bubbles. - Elyse
“It’s supposed to do that.” - Giacomo
Picture
C.C. used her yellow highlighter on the foil. 
“It looks like gold.” - CC
Picture
Picture
Is it magazine paper?  - Elyse
“Yes.” - CC 
Is it different than your other paper?  - Elyse
“Yes.” - CC
What if you tested your highlighter on that? 
“I can see it really well.” - CC
What happens if you run your finger over your marks? Do they stay or disappear? 
“They disappear. No, no it doesn’t.” - CC 
[In photo to left C.C. is trying to rub the highlighter off of the paper]
“Mine kind of disappears, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t disappear” - CC 

A Whiteboard

“It’s called a whiteboard, and it’s not normal paper.  Look, it’s not cracking.” - Giacomo
Picture
Picture
It looks like Giacomo has a different type of surface. - Elyse
“It’s not normal paper, but when you use this on it, it makes color.” - Giacomo 
“And when you use this and put it on [cap to dry erase marker that has eraser], it disappears.  When I draw it, but then put this on, it disappears.” - Giacomo

It’s similar to what CC and I were experimenting with. - Elyse
“It’s called a whiteboard, and it’s not normal paper.  Look, it’s not cracking.” - Giacomo 
If I wanted to draw something and keep it for a very long time, would you recommend using the whiteboard or something different?
[long pause to think]
If I want to keep the drawing, should I use a whiteboard or a piece of paper? 
“Paper.” - CC 
Why do you think paper would be better? Maybe a different question is, if I draw on a white board, is it permanent? Is my drawing permanent? 
“No it’s not!” - CC 
"You can erase it." - Emery (C.C.'s big sister)
Can I erase it from my paper? - Elyse
“No.” - CC
What if I draw it with my pencil? - Elyse
“Yes.” - CC 
Can erase the highlighter? - Elyse
“No. No.” - CC
“I think you can.” - Giacomo
I’m trying so hard, but it’s not working. - Elyse
Picture
Picture
Picture
We love a good "thinking face".  This was C.C.'s face when we were contemplating what surface would be best for a "permanent drawing".  
0 Comments

Force, perspective, magnets, and freeze!

2/12/2021

0 Comments

 

Force

Picture
“It [toy police car] goes by itself.  It just takes batteries.” - Giacomo
Picture
Giacomo demonstrating how he makes the wheels move.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Giacomo used his trucks/cars, magnates, and the slope of his couch as part of an experiment: 
“Saul, this is what happens. First, it’s slow. Then, when it’s on this slide, it goes fast.  This slide is steep and you can fall down.  Like if you’re on top of a hill, you can roll down it.  This [edge of couch] is a little bit like a hill. So you could just rollll down it.” - Giacomo
“I made a magnatile ball and the car was behind it. And it moved.  When the car moved here, it goes down really fast.” - Giacomo
Would you magnates have moved without the car? Would they move by themselves? - Elyse
“No.” Giacomo
 They’re not moving.  What do you need to make them move? - Elyse
“Part fast, part wheels.” - Giacomo 
Do the wheels move by themselves? - Elyse
“No, only things with motors can do it.  Only toys with motors can do it.” - Giacomo
I noticed that you were able to make the wheels move, are you the motor? -Elyse
“No.” - Saul 
Saul, if the car doesn’t have a motor, how can it move? How did he make it move? - Elyse 
Maybe a better question is, ‘What makes your trucks move?’ - Elyse
“Nothing!” - Saul 
Does your tow truck move by itself? -Elyse
“Nothing better than my crayons.” - Saul

Perspective

You have the same tow truck. - Elyse
“Yeah.” - Giacomo 
“Mine is still bigger than Giacomo’s.” - Saul 
You think so? I was thinking that they might be the same. - Elyse
“It makes noise.” - Giacomo
“Mine is easier to make noise. Mine’s easier does it.” - Saul 
“It just makes the same noise.” - Giacomo
Picture
Picture
“Mine’s is easier and bigger than Giacomo.  His is smaller. It doesn’t mean that he has the same truck.” - Saul 
I wonder if Giacomo’s looks smaller because he is sitting further away from the camera. Giacomo, if you bring your truck closer to the iPad, does it look bigger?  - Elyse
[Giacomo brings it closer]
What do you think, Saul? -Elyse
“Mine is easier the big one than his.” - Saul
Picture
“Now how big is it?” - Giacomo 
Whoa! It looks much bigger.  I think you would call that perspective. - Elyse
Picture
Do you see the little pink square I have? -Elyse 
“Yeah.” - Giacomo
Is it big or little? - Elyse
“Little.” - Giacomo
Picture
What happens if I bring it closer to the camera?  - Elyse
“It’s bigger!” - Giacomo
Picture
Picture
Picture
Now I can hide behind it. Back here I can’t hide; your can’t see my face.  If I bring it closer to the camera, you can’t see my face anymore. - Elyse
Giacomo seemed to find this funny as he chuckled when I hid my face! 
But it’s the same stack of sticky notes, I didn’t change it. Just as it moves closer, it appears to get bigger. - Elyse

Magnets

Picture
“They’re called magnets because even when you put them under, they don’t fall.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
Picture
“I even have a lizard. And a monkey. His name is ‘Fresco’.” - Saul, 3.6 years
Picture
“The more it wobbles, the more parts of the building that get destroyed.” - Giacomo
Picture
“Look what happens.” - Giacomo 
Are they going to stick together? - Elyse
"Yeah." - Giacomo
 Is there a way you can make them repel each other where they don’t stick together? - Elyse
“Let me show you.   You see these little black things in them? Those are magnetic.  That’s how they stick together.” - Giacomo
It is. I was wondering if you’ve ever experienced it where they don’t come together?  Where they push apart? - Elyse
“They can’t reverse, so that means they can’t do that.” - Giacomo

Freeze

Saul, do you know what today is? - Elyse
“Yeah! Friday! Can i watch a truck video?” - Saul
I thought we could also do something where we move around too. - Elyse
“Yeah, let’s do the freeze dance!” - Saul

We can also do it with your favorite song.  One that you like to sing or listen to. - Elyse
“Well, it could just be like any song that you want. It could just be like Frosty the Snowman” - Giacomo 
“I want Frosty!” - Saul
Picture

Next week

Picture
Next week, we will likely see our friend Remy from the Brown Room.  It has been a very long time since we've seen her in the virtual classroom.  So, we took a moment to revisit her photo, name, and symbol.  Also, Giacomo had never met Remy!  

Have a fun and safe weekend!

​I'll leave you with this bit of hope from Giacomo: 

“In states where you get the flu shot, the coronavirus will be destroyed.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
**Note, we briefly discussed that there is a flu vaccine and a COVID vaccine, but either way, it will be destroyed! 
0 Comments

Story Telling - Loch Ness and other places

2/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Instead of reading books today during story time, I invited the Saul and Giacomo to help me tell our own story.  I had chosen a photo of Loch Ness in Scotland and a book from MOMA in NYC titled, Places.  We had images to help spark our imagination for our characters and what they might do in these locations.  

Loch Ness was chosen based on previous conversations and interest about the Loch Ness monster and other creatures.  I did not tell them it was Loch Ness until later in the call.  
Picture
 What do you notice about it?
“It looks kind of like the Loch Ness Lake because Loch Ness lake is big and wide.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
Who do you think would live in this lake? - Elyse
“The Loch Ness monster of course.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years
Saully, who else could live in this lake?  - Elyse
“With the monsters?” - Saul. 3.6 years
“Some more monsters like a whale monster.  That could be the monster world.” -Giacomo
So, if we told a story that took place in this lake, it would be the monster world lake? [...] and one of our characters could be Nessie [Giacomo had just referred to the monster by this name], the Loch Ness monster who lives in the lake.
Who would live in the castle? 
“A king and queen of course.” - Giacomo
“My characters will be a big piece of pie that will go to get you trucks by the old trucks.” - Saul
“No, it can’t be like that. Wait, what did he say?” - Giacomo
Do you see this bridge? Could this be a road for the trucks? 
“No.” - Saul
“If that’s the Loch Ness world, there has to be some monsters in that castle because only monsters live in the loch ness world.  All of the people are monsters.  That’s the point.” - Giacomo

One of the important part of telling a story is knowing who our characters are: who the people, or animals, or creatures in the story are.
I know that you both have great imaginations.  What if we told our own story about the Loch Ness monster or any monsters that could live in this castle. - Elyse
“And that huge lake.” - Giacomo
What would they do if they lived in this photograph?  What would they do all day? - Elyse
“What if they live with the cows?” - Saul 
Oh, maybe there are cows here.  We can’t see them, but we can pretend that they’re there. - Elyse
“No, there can’t be cows because if that’s the monster world, then the cows are monsters.” - Giacomo
Because we’re making up the story, our monster world can have anything we want it to have. - Elyse

Sometimes we start fairy tales with “Once upon a time”.  What if we start with, “Once upon a time there was the Loch Ness Monster, some other monsters, and some cows, and they lived in a castle near the lake.  What would we say next?  What is the next part of our story? 
“The truck will come pick them up and bring them down.” - Saul 
“Broke down the other monsters and cows.” - Saul 
Why would he do that? - Elyse
“Because he did’t want the monsters and cows to eat the truck so he broke them down.” - Saul 
“Basically, they couldn’t have been cows because they weren’t invented then.” _ Giacomo
We can create any story we want to tell. It does’t have to be real.  We can use our imaginations. 
“At least my thinking is that cows shouldn’t be there.  Cows are usually in farms, and they can’t be out in the nature because they don’t put them in things and stuff.  You don’t just capture them at once. You just say to the cow to come, but they only say to come at farms.  Because if they were there in the Loch Ness world, they couldn’t be real.  THe Loch Ness world lived before the human world, and there was only cows who were actually monsters.The whole earth, all the people on their earth were monsters.” - Giacomo

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Have you ever seen a farm like that? 
“Yeah.” - Saul 
Giacomo said that cows live on a farm, but I don’t see any cows. 
“Well, basically the cows are in the barn. The barn is in the back and that’s why we can’t see them.” - Giacomo
We have to imagine the cows because we can’t see them. 



Which boys are playing and which boys are watching? Can you tell where they are? Is he [pointing] watching or playing? 
“He’s watching.” - Saul 
“Um no, he’s playing.” - Giacomo
We each see something different.  Where do you think they’re playing?
“There.” - Saul 
Are they on a farm?
“No.” - Saul 
Why not? 
“Because they don’t need a farm.” - Saul 
If they’re not on a farm, where could they be? 
“There because there is where they’re playing.” - Saul 

Is this a city? 
“No.” - Saul
Why not? 
“Because there’s not so many plants.” - Giacomo
“Because it’s a farm.” - Saul 
What makes it a farm? 
“Trees.” - Saul 
“No, but it’s not a farm.  It’s a forrest.” - Giacomo
 You both noticed the plants and trees. What are these back here? What could they be?
“Places we’ve already seen.” - Giacomo
It seems like even when we look at the same image, we see different things.  Or we can imagine different things? 
Can you imagine being inside of this room? 
“No.” - Saul 
What would you do if you were inside that room? 
“I would go outside and find some shells and the beach, but we must stay there because that’s where they live.” - Saul 
Do you think this painting is maybe at the beach? 
“No, it’s already at the beach.” - Saul 
Maybe it’s a painting of a room at the beach. 
“No.” - Saul
Picture
Picture

Picture
Here is a very different kind of room.  Can you describe it?  What do we notice about it? 
“There’s one light side and one dark side.” - Giacomo
“There’s nobody in there.” - Saul
“No, there’s somebody in there.” - Giacomo
Are you looking at this figure and this? Saul, what do you think? Could this be a person? 
“No, it’s not a person.” - Saul 
“Mostly it’s a ghost.” - Giacomo
“Yeah, it’s a ghost.” - Saul
What is this the ghost has with it? 
“I think that’s his face because ghosts heads can come off.” - Giacomo
“I see a television.” - Saul 
That’s the interesting thing about artwork is that we might see something different. 

Picture
“A town. Even two houses. How could that be?” - Saul
Picture
“Yeah, what is he doing?” - Saul 
“I\t must be a traffic light.” - Giacomo​
0 Comments

Paper Sculpture Playgrounds

2/8/2021

0 Comments

 
“I’m making a park!” - Saul, 3.6 years
On Friday, Saul and Audrey each had the idea to create  a playground for their collaged creatures/monsters.  Saul used images of lollipops to collage a lollipop playground, while Audrey used paper strips to create (paper bridge) slides for her monster Kiki and it's lovie.  Remembering that we have a lot of knowledge about paper, we decided to create paper sculpture playgrounds.  We were able to draw on our past paper explorations, the techniques that Maren shared with us, and, of course, our imaginations.  
Picture
"A park of lollipops." - Saul, 3.6 years
Maybe we should share with Giacomo why we were thinking about a playground.  - Elyse
“Basically, I know why you’re thinking playground.  Because we never did that, and you know, we create new things.  And we never did that.  That’s a new thing. We make new things.” - Giacomo, 4.2 years

What did we bring? What is our plan?

Picture
Picture
“We’re building a park for Gecko (a plastic frog). I brought some tools [holds up cardboard tube].” - Saul

Picture
As always, we take a moment to share the materials we brought and initial ideas that we may have about how we will proceed with these materials.  

Some initial questions: 
1. What kind of things can we find at the playground? 
2. Have you ever been on the slide at the playground? 
3. Do you have a playground in your neighborhood?
4. Can we think about what's in the outdoor classroom [at St. John's]? 
Saul and Naama speaking to each other about Saul's plan: 
“Together we’re making?” - Saul 
Yes, I will also make myself a little playground. - Naama 
“You add to mine.” - Saul 
Are you and Ima going to work together? - Elyse 
“I’ll decorate. Ima, you can connect your parts to my parts to make a big, big large one. Here I’ve been doing a big park so that everyone can fit in it.” - Saul

Revisiting and sharing our paper knowledge

“I need this to stand up.” - Giacomo
Picture
Picture
Maren, from the Tucker Room, taught us this [...]. If you fold the tip, she called it a foot, you can use it to make your paper stand up. - Elyse 

Giacomo was watching, and immediately applied this technique to his paper strips.

I also shared how we used this to create other standing shapes (e.g. triangle).  

“I think you made the triangle.” - Giacomo
​I did.  I used Maren's technique and made feet, and now I can put glue and it [will] stand up. - Elyse

Picture
Picture
Picture
Folding "accordions".
Picture
Adding glue to his "foot".
Picture
Giacomo folding his paper.
Picture
“No.  I made feet for the bridge.” - Saul
“A curl!” - Saul, 3.6 years
You can also curl your paper if you need any sort of loops or twists.  - Elyse
“Curl?  Can you add it to mine?” - Saul 
I can’t add it to yours, but you can make one. 
“I’m going to curl one too.  See? Curling." - Saul

We can work together. - Naama {offering to hold the pencil for Saul]
“That’s good.” - Saul 
Are you working together with Ima?  It looks like Giacomo is working with his mommy too. - Elyse 
​

​The parents have been the best partners in our virtual classroom.  Everything that we do is possible due to collaboration with our parents.  Here, Saul and Giacomo were both working with their moms to develop their ideas and accomplish their end goal/idea (e.g. curls). With Naama's help [scaffolding], Saul was able to create a few curls.  A few minutes later, he picked up the pencil and resumed his work without any assistance (final photo on bottom right).

“I’m making another one. It becomes a little curl.  I made a curl! I’m going to use them for Gecko.  Gecko the frog is going to jump into the park and walk, walk, walk, walk.  You see. He’s happy because he has a nice big park, and he likes to hop in it.” - Saul
“Well, I just crumpled some paper [...]." - Giacomo, 4.2 years
Picture
“And then the bench is just for the humans to look at the giant gatto [cat]. That’s the bench.  For pretend people to sit.” - Giacomo

Did you crumple your paper to make the legs of the bench? 

“Well, I just crumpled some paper, like little pieces of paper and crumpled them into balls.  And then I used a little piece on the glue so that it would stay together.” - Giacomo 

Saul's Park

Picture
Picture
“I’m adding a bridge.” - Saul 
Picture
"I made some circles for him to jump, in, in, in, in. [moving finger from tube to tube]. Then I’ll make so many things in the world. He [Gecko the frog] goes ribbit, ribbit, ribbit. I even made another tunnel and he can walk, walk, walk and then jump in the big, big, base. Did you ever go in a park?” - Saul
Picture
“So many things. I didn’t make a slide.  I forgot to make a slide. Oh, I made a slide here. It has one, two.” - Saul [pointing to the two ends]

“I’m adding some more things because I want it to be bigger, stronger, and with all of the things. I want to connect it. I’m thinking how to connect Ima’s park to my park. So we can be a big park.” - Saul

“This is a step bridge.” - Saul

“I didn’t know that there are so many things that were in the park. We might connect some” - Saul



Picture

Documenting Saul's work from home

Giacomo's Playground

“Mommy, I’m making a playground for Gecko (points to Saul on screen). It’s silly. At night he kind of hides.  Maybe he’s just hungry.  And in a few days I get him.” - Giacomo
Picture
“You go on there, then press the green button and then it goes ‘whee whee’.” - Giacomo​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
"I’m just going to use glue so it’s strong [white and gold tube]. And when it dries up, that thing will get stuck. Because when glue is dried, it gets tight.” - Giacomo

“Oh, and I made a really fun thing.  Let me just attach it to my thing [pulling tape from the dispenser].” - Giacomo

"It’s tall because you look up and it’s so tall
[white and gold tube].  And you look up and you can see the moon. Yeah. Where I cut it is the door.” - Giacomo 
Picture

Picture
“So this is how it goes. You go here and then you run around as fast as you can. Then you walk up, and walk up, and walk up.  Then you can see down below [looks into his tube].” - Giacomo 

Sharing across the screens and playing games

Distance and communicating over zoom does not alter our desire to be with each other and share our work.  Saul and Giacomo seem to connect well despite our distance.  
“Can you show me?” - Saul 
What do you need me to show you? - Elyse
“I want Giacomo to show me.” - Saul 
“Yes, Sauly.” - Giacomo
“Can I see your park?” - Saul 
“Oh, that’s on my playground, that’s on my playground. That’s my things that…that’s the playground. There’s just a few things.” - Giacomo

“It looks like a fun park!  Want to see my park?” - Saul 
I do! Do you want to tell me more about it? - Elyse
“See, I want to show you it.” - Saul [trying to pull computer screen closer]
“See, these are so many things that Gecko can play with.  There’s a slide. So many things.  I glued them down.” - Saul 

"He’s [Gecko the frog] finding a place where he can hide. Gecko, he’s finding a place to hide.” - Saul

But I really want to keep working on my park so that Gecko can jump in and slide and then crawl in, and then go back to his hiding place.” - Saul

“He’s in his hiding place.  If someone comes to find him, he always gets away.” - Saul
Picture
Picture
Is he playing hide-n-seek? - Elyse
“Yeah, but when someone finds him and gives him a hug, he gets away.” - Saul
Picture
“You want to play hide-n-seek with me now?” - Saul 
We can try.  How can we do it over zoom?  How can we play hide-n-seek? - Elyse
“No, we need to find Gecko! Ready? Go! Find Gecko.” - Saul 
I cover my eyes and count. Ready or not Gecko, here we come! Is he in the tunnel? - Elyse
“No! I found him!” - Saul 
“Wanna do it again? 1..2…3… [counted to 11].” - Saul 

Ready or not Gecko, here Saully comes! - Elyse
“Can you find him?” - Saul 
Hmm… is he on your playground or Ima’s playground? - Elyse
“Ima’s playground!” - Saul 
So he’s on Ima’s.  I don’t think I’ve seen Ima’s playground yet, so I don’t know where to look. - Elyse
“He’s hiding in his place.  Under here. That is Gecko’s hiding place.  He’s watching TV.” - Saul 
No way!  There’s a TV on your playground? - Elyse
“No, but there’s a TV on Ima’s playground! He’s watching it because he does’t want to be on his own.” - Saul 

A few more process photos

0 Comments

Collage Creatures

2/5/2021

0 Comments

 
“I’m so glad that I made that creation.” - Saul, 3.6 years
Picture
Picture
Picture
We typically start each call by sharing the materials and tools that we've each brought because we know that everyone will have a different variety.  Sharing offers inspiration for the future and helps us share ideas along the way.  

"I have so many different types of tools to play with.  I brought so many different things; I even brought some glue." - Saul, 3.6 years
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Audrey brought this beautiful book to share with us because it reminded her of our monster/creatures creations. 
Picture
Picture
"At the end, it's like that." - Audrey, 3.10 years

Saul's Process and Collage

Each of us came to the call with a different type of creature in mind and different materials.  Saul had images from magazines, paper, glue sticks, and some drawing tools.  Saul has a strong interest in trucks, and his creature was a "truck dog" image that he found.  He built his collage around this image, and then decided that his work was going to be a gift.  
“I’m making a puzzle. I found a nice green balloon like this, and I wonder if it needs to have some glue. I’m making a puzzle of trucks.  I saw a truck dog.” - Saul 
“I found it.  It’s a truck dog.” - Saul 
I wonder if you could think about where the truck dog would live and add some pieces for his home. - Elyse
“No, he drives. I’m going to glue him.” - Saul 
Where do you think they might live? - Elyse
“They might live on the road because that’s where they drive.” - Saul 
“I can arrange the lollipops for my dog. Yum, yum, yum.” - Saul 
Maybe a lollipop playground. - Naama 
“I’m putting all of the lollipops here.  It’s a creation. This is a nice creation I made.” - Saul
Picture
“Everybody knows what I made, but it’s for Sylvie.  Sylvie will be very happy that I make it for her. I made a nice collage for Sylvie. I added a new piece.” - Saul
“I made this for Sylvie’s birthday.” - Saul

We’ll have to let Sylvie know that you were thinking of her.  - Elyse
​

“I can put it in the mailbox and show it to Sylvie.” - Saul 

That’s a really kind thought.  Sylvie’s mom, Katie, shared with me that Sylvie was thinking about you the other day, and she misses you. - Elyse

“This is for Sylvie, and I made it for Sylvie. It’s lollipops.” - Saul
 

“I added another thing. It’s for Sylvie. I made it for her. I just worked on it. I took it out because it was my turn to always did it.” - Saul

Audrey's process and creatures

Picture
Picture
“I eat gross bugs.” - Audrey [as she holds her creature to the camera]
That’s it’s favorite food? - Elyse
“Yeah!” - Audrey 
She gave him arms stretched out so that he could give a hug. - Sarah 
Is he a kind monster? - Sarah
“Yeah!” - Audrey 
I think mine is going to be a kind monster too. - Elyse
Does he [yellow monster] have a name? - Sarah 

“Kiki.” - Audrey 
“My friend is my lovie.” - Audrey [speaking as Kiki]
Is this [hand monster] a monster friend? - Sarah 
“No. .It’s a puppet.” - Audrey 
This is Kiki sleeping in his house [under the orange stool], and she’s going to decorate it. On top of the stool is where he’ll practice flying. - Sarah
Picture
Do you want to give Kiki feathers? - Sarah 
“No. He puts on his flying feathers.” - Audrey
Did you add some wings [to Kiki]? - Elyse
“Yeah. I’m holding the wings. So he can be fast at flying. He needs a feather to fly.” - Audrey ​
Picture

A playground for Kiki and his lovie - We'll expand on this next week!

Picture
Picture
“Maybe we need to make a playground for him. Where’s my paper? That’s part of his playground thing.” - Audrey 
How would you make a slide? - Sarah 
“Now we need to double.  One [paper bridge as a slide] needs to go on top.  So his lovie can go on one. He has a special thing on his lovie to make it walk and talk by itself.” - Audrey 
Where did Kiki go? - Sarah 
“Kikiiiiiiii?”- Audrey 
Tegan come. 
“You can be Kiki’s friend.” - Audrey

Sharing ideas!

Now i’m going to think about the images I cut out for where he might live. I have trees or mountains. - Elyse
“Or he could live in the jungle!” - Saul 
I could create a jungle.  I have different types of trees and plants. - Elyse
“You could create a jungle for him where he could walk and see bubbles.  Those are always nice things.” - Saul 
Bubbles like this? - Elyse [holds up image]
“Yeah, these are bubbles.” - Saul 
I’m going to move him around and create a jungle for him. - Elyse
“He might have a big jungle.” - Saul

“What did you make?” - Saul 
Would you like to see? This is what I have so far. - Elyse
“Is that a jungle for him?” - Saul 
You guys suggested a jungle, so I had some trees and some other plants.  And then I brought two choices for his friend. A unicorn friend or an ostrich friend. - Elyse
“I’d like to see the unicorn friend.” - Saul 
“Unicorn.” - Audrey

Tegan and Audrey shared some images via Seesaw

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Brown Room 2024-2025
  • Rainey Room 2024-2025
  • Tucker Room 2024-2025
  • Children's Workshop
  • Summer Blog 2024
  • Tucker Room 2023-2024